A Theory of Everything # 13 'The art therapy sessions 2'

THEORY OF EVERYTHING

'The art therapy sessions # 2'

16^th September, 2021 Events 03P Psychodynamic/analytical Therapy

‘Dad under serious stress due to possible Skin cancer.

Dad has told me repeatedly of the neglect and abuse that there has been in the family, to all of them and it is all history repeating itself.’ ---16 Sep 2021 17.04, Sally Mungall

Sally Mungall’s ‘clinical notes’ point to possible skin cancer and my references to intergenerational trauma.

Possible skin cancer was just one issue out of many that I was being forced to face in September 2021

There were just three months until Meg’s 18^th birthday, shortly after which she was to be discharged from CAMHS and there had been no appreciable improvement in her mental health despite the therapy she was receiving. There was no contingency offered by CAMHS or consideration of referral to Adult Mental Health Services. After more than fifteen years as a single dad and full time carer I was seriously burned out.

In the background were unresolved issues surrounding my ex-wife’s infidelity, imminent homelessness and acute suicidal ideation. I remember the feeling like I had been pushed backwards down a particularly high ski slope.

Sally Mungall failed to record the most significant incident that occurred during 16^th September ‘art therapy’ session.

Sally Mungall had greeted me in CAMHS reception for our second meeting, again wearing a Covid-19 face covering. When we had settled in the room I challenged her on her use of the mask during 'art therapy'. I was about to commit myself to a regime of psychotherapy likely to explore deeply disturbing intergenerational trauma and expose awful secrets that had remained hidden for more than five decades. I asked her if she would remove it, just for a few moments, so that I could properly connect with her and she obliged. I still cannot fully account for the effect of seeing her maskless for the first time. Sally Mungall herself observed my reaction at the time and later remarked that revealing her face had a very profound effect on me. My own recent self enquiries have embraced concepts that include connectedness, boundaries, vulnerability, bodily sovereignty, trust and power dynamics.

The theories that might explain the phenomenon fall into five possible categories.

1)      THE CHALLENGES OF ESTABLISHING AND MAINTAINING CONNECTION

2)      IDENTITY

3)      OBJECT RELATIONS

4)      ROMANTIC ATTTRACTION

5) POWER

I will say something about the first two categories in this post.

I would assert that the efficacy of therapy correlates directly with connectedness. The issues arising around Sally Mungall’s use of a mask can be seen as a conflict between the bodily autonomy and self-determination of the therapist and an optimal therapeutic alliance.

‘Therapy is much more than a clinical intervention. It is a human encounter where vulnerability meets empathy. Research consistently shows that the quality of the therapist-client relationship predicts therapy outcomes better than any specific technique or method. This connection creates a safe environment where clients feel heard, accepted, and understood.’ - https://www.scottpeddie.org/post/rehumanising-therapy-the-vital-role-of-human-connections

I could find nothing substantially useful in the academic literature that specifically addressed the effect of the use of face coverings in the therapeutic setting. The studies that most closely matched were focused on the use of remote counselling or online psychotherapy. The following is an extract of a paper written by Jenny O’Donnell and published by the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy titled 

‘Counsellor and psychotherapist views of the impact of using online video therapy on the therapeutic relationship during the COVID-19 pandemic’

I was particularly interested in this part of Jenny O’Donnell’s research...

‘Lack of access to bodily non-verbal cues Being unable to see the whole client on a webcam during online consultations to interpret their body language was described as a problem by almost all respondents. The lack of bodily cues meant it was more challenging to see complete reactions, assess engagement and understanding. Therapists also explained the lack of cues affected their own reactions to clients. Furthermore, as their own body language was not fully visible to clients, it could not be completely communicated and they felt limited in using it to demonstrate engagement and support towards the client. Unable to detect therapeutic processes Therapists were able to view only facial cues, and other body language cues that might be present in an in-person therapy session were missing. This meant certain therapeutic processes were more challenging. Some respondents expressed how embodied attunement was missing in online consultations, defined as the ability to experience in our bodies the emotions in the bodies of others. Some therapists also described how they struggled to detect transference during online therapy, defined as instances where clients redirected their feelings about a specific person on to their therapist. Therapists also could not recognise countertransference and work through this, which refers to situations where the therapist may project their feelings unconsciously on to the client.’ - https://www.bacp.co.uk/media/22330/counse-1.pdf

The Covid 19 mask remained a frustrating interference. I have already written about the lack of facial non-verbal cues in part six of ‘My Theory of Everything https://www.fourandtwentydeadcrows.com/post/a-theory-of-everything-6-the-mask but the face covering did far more than interfere with direct connectedness. The Covid 19 mask became a literal blank canvas for psychological projection, untempered by non-verbal, facial cues. There were no smiles to soften the words, just eyes that would sometimes appear to flash with Kali-like intensity.

In psychology, projection is understood to mean the mental process in which an individual assigns their own internal thoughts, beliefs and feelings to another person.

Sally Mungall’s identity would shapeshift throughout the ‘art therapy’ sessions. Without a constant visual anchor, her personality seemed nebulous and changeable, constantly ambiguous.

And it is here that this part of my theory settles.

First, let me first remind the reader of a quote that I used in an earlier post...

‘Faces are powerful, informative visual stimuli for human perception of identity, gender, emotion, age and race (Freud et al., 2020). Faces enable facial speech analysis and understanding emotional conditions of others via expression analysis (Carbon, 2020). Language engages in profound metamorphosis through translating speech signals to meaning. The language of masks may conceal speech information, impairing encoding performance (Trecca et al., 2020). Changes to our psychosocial environment, including facial interpretation, can influence our very virtues, transforming aspects of self (Cooper, 1999).’